Movie Diary 9/15/2010

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Albert Lewin, 1945). Granted, when seen on late-night TV at a tender age (the Dr. Zingrrr show, if you must know – Seattle’s Channel 13, early 1970s), this movie can look pretty boring. But it is a classy, erudite endeavor, with a great George Sanders performance (he gets the most Oscar Wilde lines) and the eeriely sleepwalking presence of Hurd Hatfield in the title role – Caligari and his subject in the same person.

A Scandal in Paris (Douglas Sirk, 1946). Sanders again, this time in a fluffy piece of sophistication about a rogue in Napoleonic France; his monobrowed sidekick is Akim Tamiroff, the women are Carole Landis and Signe Hasso.

Bunny and the Bull (Paul King, 2009). British whimsy about an agoraphobe and a boor taking a European road trip together, played out against artificial sets and painted animations. (full review 9/17)

The Harimaya Bridge (Aaron Woolfolk, 2009). A very sincere picture about a man (veteran Ben Guillory) going to Japan to retrieve his dead son’s artworks, and finding a new culture. Very sincere. (full review 9/17)